Some will ask about our tagline:
Committed to Scripture // Subordinated to Jesus // Called to Unity
An important aspect of our beliefs as a people is, “Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures we share the same faith and hope, and reach out in one witness to all” (Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists, Church Manual, p. 161). That is, our confession as a church will only be a unified witness as we receive the revelation of Jesus through His Word. The result is a shared faith and hope. This sharing, this oneness of witness, is essential for the success of the work heaven has assigned us.
Committed to Scripture means we share in accepting their authority, in terms of spirit and explicit content, and in their self-testimony concerning their interpretation. We reject the imposition of constructs from outside the Scriptures originating in theories that grant priority to human constructs but denying the divine. We reject interpretive methodologies which dissolve the unified testimony of the Bible into discrete and competing cases, rob it of its authority, and leave God’s Church nothing in its place but tenuous theories.
Subordinated to Jesus means that as members of God’s church, we have voluntarily chosen to be under Jesus’ guidance. Being under His guidance means being under His authority. We listen when Jesus speaks, we seek out His counsel. Voluntarily we subordinate ourselves to those faithful human leaders He has placed over us. In terms of the church, among other things, this means we surrender our individual judgment to the collective voice of fellow believers speaking in the General Conference session.
Called to Unity means we sense that God is always pleading with us to find common ground in the community He has founded. He wants us to press together. Because of human frailty, there will be no unity apart from our positive response to the invitation of His Holy Spirit. Listening to the Spirit means sensing His guidance, but also subjecting ourselves as a people to the counsels He has inspired. We are not alone, but in community with Heaven and each other.
With respect then, especially to the question of Women’s Ordination, the urgency of these three themes is obvious. There can be no resolution of this question, there can be no clarification to us of Heaven’s will for us concerning ordination, unless we are committed to Scripture, subordinated to Jesus, actively responding to His call to unity. These three themes are urgently needed in the North American Division, by members, churches, conference leaders, and union committees. We believe that God longs to bless and lead us all in this dangerous hour.